Cattle, sheep and pigs are the main livestock grown in Australia and have been present since the earliest days of white settlement. Table 16.42 provides an insight into the change in livestock numbers from 1861.

16.42 LIVESTOCK(a)

Cattle

Sheep and lambs

Pigs

’000

’000

’000

1861

3,958

20,135

351

1871

4,276

41,594

543

1881

7,527

62,184

816

1891

10,300

97,881

891

1901

8,640

70,603

950

1911

11,745

98,066

1,026

1921

13,500

81,796

674

1931

11,721

110,568

1,072

1941

13,256

122,694

1,797

1951

15,229

115,596

1,134

1961

17,332

152,579

1,615

1971

24,373

177,792

2,590

1981

25,168

134,407

2,430

1991

(b)23,662

163,238

2,531

1992

(b)23,880

148,203

2,570

1993

(b)24,062

138,099

2,646

1994

(b)25,758

132,569

2,775

1995

(b)25,731

120,862

2,653

1996

(b)26,377

121,116

2,526

1997

(b)26,695

120,228

2,555

1998

(b)26,851

117,491

2,768

1999

(b)26,578

115,456

2,626

2000

(b)27,588

118,552

2,511

(a) Prior to 1943, livestock numbers were recorded at different times of the year in different states. In 2000, the collection period was changed from 31 March to 30 June to better align with other ABS surveys.(b) Excludes house cows.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).

Cattle

Cattle farming occurs in all states and territories. While dairy cattle are restricted mainly to southern and coastal districts, beef cattle are concentrated in Queensland and New South Wales. Table 16.43 shows the number of cattle by age, sex and purpose.

Cattle numbers in Australia increased slowly during the 1960s and 1970s, despite seasonal changes and heavy slaughtering, to a peak of 33.4 million in 1976. Beef cattle production is often combined with cropping, dairying and sheep. In the northern half of Australia, cattle properties and herd sizes are very large, pastures are generally unimproved, fodder crops are rare and beef is usually the only product. The industry is more intensive in the south, with higher stocking rates per hectare, because the more favourable environment allows the development of improved pastures (see map 16.44).

Drought conditions in the early 1980s led to a decline in the beef herd until 1984. For the next five years the size of the herd remained relatively stable. Between 1989 and 1998 cattle numbers increased gradually, despite unfavourable weather conditions continuing in many parts of Australia. After a slight decline in 1999, cattle numbers increased to 27.6 million in 2000.

Table 16.45 shows the number of cattle by state and territory.

16.43 CATTLE(a), By purpose

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

'000

Milk cattle

Cows (in milk and dry)

1,821

1,884

1,977

2,060

2,155

2,171

Other milk cattle

919

923

982

1,015

1,065

969

Total

2,740

2,808

2,958

3,076

3,220

3,140

Meat cattle

Bulls used or intended for service

555

553

551

547

528

518

Cows and heifers (1 year old and over)

11,213

11,667

11,879

11,783

11,621

12,282

Calves under 1 year old

5,806

5,768

6,029

6,026

5,740

5,872

Other cattle (1 year old and over)

5,418

5,581

5,278

5,420

5,469

5,774

Total

22,991

23,569

23,736

23,776

23,358

24,448

Total cattle

25,731

26,377

26,695

26,851

26,578

27,588

(a) Excludes house cows.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).

16.44 CATTLE FOR ALL PURPOSES, Excluding house cows - 31 March 1997(a)(a) This map has been generated using small area Agricultural Census data for 1996-97.Source: AgStats on Floppy Disk (7117.0).

16.45 CATTLE(a), By state/territory

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

Aust.(b)

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

'000

1995

6,236

4,280

9,947

1,216

1,899

693

1,421

25,731

1996

6,390

4,396

10,214

1,219

1,924

718

1,503

26,377

1997

6,511

4,411

10,415

1,181

1,909

725

1,530

26,695

1998

6,351

4,142

10,867

1,214

1,973

728

1,567

26,851

1999

6,291

4,125

10,748

1,183

1,931

724

1,567

26,578

2000

5,970

4,264

11,808

1,184

2,165

617

1,571

27,588

(a) Excludes house cows.(b) Includes ACT.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).

Dairying

Dairying is a major Australian agricultural industry. The estimate of gross value of dairy production at farm gate prices in 2000-01 was $3.1b (table 16.46). This represented 9% of the gross value of agricultural production in Australia and placed dairy production third behind beef and wheat. Table 16.43 shows that the number of milk cattle in 2000, at 3.1 million, was 2% less than in 1999.

The entry of the United Kingdom, Australia's then largest market, into the European Union in 1973 forced the Australian dairy industry to develop new export trade links and become more internationally competitive.

Dairy production

Most dairy production occurs in high rainfall coastal fringe areas where climate and natural resources allow production to be based on year-round pasture grazing. This enables efficient, low-cost milk production. With the exception of several inland river schemes, pasture growth generally depends on natural rainfall. Feedlot-based dairying is expanding, although it remains uncommon in Australia. However, the use of supplementary feed, such as grains, has become more common throughout the industry in recent years.

While Australian milk production had risen steadily up until 1999-2000, less favourable seasonal conditions and farm exits associated with deregulation of the milk industry saw production decrease by 3% to 10.5 billion litres in 2000-01 (table 16.46).

Average annual per capita milk consumption by Australians has stabilised at around 100 litres since the mid 1980s. However, there have been substantial changes in the types of fresh milk consumed, with fat-reduced and modified milks taking an increasing share of overall market milk sales. In 1998-99, Australians consumed 10.7 kg of cheese per person, the same as in 1997-98. Per capita milk consumption showed a slight decrease from 103.0 litres in 1997-98 to 102.4 litres in 1998-99 (see table 16.59).

Sheep

Sheep numbers reached a peak of 180 million in Australia in 1970. In general, numbers have fallen since then. Poor market prospects for wool after 1990 had a marked impact on the flock size with sheep numbers falling rapidly until 1995, after which there was a gradual decline until 1999 (tables 16.47 and 16.48). Preliminary data show that at 30 June 2001 Australia had approximately 111 million sheep and lambs.

Map 16.49 shows the distribution of sheep and lambs in Australia at 31 March 1997.

16.47 SHEEP AND LAMBS, By state

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

Aust.(a)

mill.

mill.

mill.

mill.

mill.

mill.

mill.

1995

40.5

21.4

11.6

13.2

30.2

3.9

120.9

1996

41.1

22.0

10.7

13.6

29.8

3.9

121.1

1997

42.4

22.3

10.5

13.1

27.8

4.0

120.2

1998

40.8

21.1

11.0

13.1

27.5

3.9

117.5

1999

40.6

21.0

10.6

13.1

26.4

3.8

115.5

2000

43.4

22.7

9.2

13.8

26.1

3.3

118.6

(a) Includes ACT.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).

16.48 SHEEP AND LAMBS

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

mill.

mill.

mill.

mill.

mill.

mill.

Sheep

94.0

91.7

89.8

87.5

86.0

87.9

Lambs (under 1 year old)

26.8

29.4

30.5

30.0

29.5

30.7

Total

120.9

121.1

120.2

117.5

115.5

118.6

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).

16.49 SHEEP AND LAMBS, Distribution - 31 March 1997(a)(a) This map has been generated using small area Agricultural Census data for 1996-97.Source: AgStats on Floppy Disk (7117.0).

Pigs

Pig farming is a highly intensive industry. The majority of pigs are grown in specially designed sheds which provide a controlled environment conducive to the efficient production of large numbers of animals. The number of pigs decreased by 4% to 2.5 million in 1999-2000, while the number of establishments classified to pig farming fell slightly to 3,400. Recent changes in the Australian pig industry have seen many smaller producers leave the industry and existing producers increase their size of operations in an attempt to remain viable.

As table 16.50 shows, New South Wales is the largest producer of pigs, followed by Queensland and Victoria.

16.50 PIGS

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

Aust.(a)

’000

’000

’000

'000

’000

’000

'000

1995

791

439

644

423

316

38

2,653

1996

710

458

603

412

314

26

2,526

1997

729

485

600

417

297

24

2,555

1998

849

518

648

424

303

24

2,768

1999

778

521

621

406

277

22

2,626

2000

710

523

544

438

276

18

2,511

(a) Includes NT and ACT.

Source: Agricultural Commodities, Australia (7121.0).

Poultry

Poultry farming is a highly intensive industry, with the majority of poultry raised in large sheds which provide the birds with a stable environment protected from the elements. The poultry farming industry consists of two streams, meat production and egg production, both being major users of feed grains. Although the industry has grown over recent years, there was a decline in 2000 with poultry numbers falling by 7% to 87.0 million birds (table 16.51).

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